Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

| by archiveworldraceblogs

But first… let me bring you up to speed…

From Tanzania to India, here’s what 2 weeks can look like on the World Race…

  • Camping in the African bush with a Tanzanian Maasai tribe; Waking up to goats and donkeys outside your tent; Tribal members offering goats and land as gifts; And worshiping with a tribe under a tree and seeing the presence of God.
  • Spending a “Race Day” running around Nairobi, Kenya – racing against the clock and other teams to answer riddles and do random things to win like making human statues, paddle boating, and writing messages in the sand. 
  • Flying to India and taking a train to the foothills of the Himalayas.
  • Experiencing beautiful India – the colors, the chaos, the poverty, the rich culture.
  • Visiting with an underground church of Nepali believers. 
Ok, back to India 🙂
 

India is a special place to me because once upon a time, it is where God opened my eyes to passions and desires within me that were waiting to be revealed. It is where I came alive and grew in confidence. I did things I never thought I could do. It’s also a place where my worldview expanded.  I lived in India less then a year working with orphans and doing a variety of things and fell in love with it. It was my first time out of the country and it broke me of everything I was familiar with and I loved it.

Don’t get me wrong. India is very much the opposite of American culture in every way.  India is a sensory overload. A billion people living in a nation that looks a little bit bigger than the state of Texas. A country that is home to 330 million gods, poverty, leprosy, cows and rats that are holy, yet some of the most educated and most advanced technological systems in the world. Shrines are everywhere; children begging in the streets; the smell of burnt dirt. People everywhere; cars and rickshaws honking, cows in the road, over 100 degree heat. Yet, I fell in love with India – the people, the culture and honestly didn’t want to leave.

Now I’m back ten years later, my own personal reunion of sorts, to see how far God has taken me these last ten years and discover where he’s taking me next. I know that he’s taking me to a deeper, sweeter place of believing his love for me and I get little glimpse of it each day. I’ve been studying Song of Songs and listening to Mike Bickle do a series on this book. Its a book I usually skip or don’t really know how to relate to me and God, but now I’m starting to get it. My hope for my relationship with God is that of Songs of Songs 1:1  “For your love is more delightful than wine.” I’m not there yet, but I hope to know this kind of love exists and can be real. I know other people who love their Lord like this and feel this love from him, so I know its possible. 
 
I’m now in North India at the foothills of the Himalayas for a short time, which makes me sad. I fly out of India on March 29th and head to Eastern Europe for 3 months. While I’m in India, my ministry will involve house visits,  evangelistic outreach, prayer walking in the community, and teaching at a local school run by volunteers. This is a special school because most of the kids are street kids, saved from child labor, all come from a Hindu background and wouldn’t have access to any education if it weren’t for this school.  My team and I help teach the ABC’s and 123’s to most 3-10 yr olds and facilitate a time for art therapy where the children can express themselves and release their suppressed emotions through the arts. We also use that time to introduce the One true living God to them through stories and songs. These children are devalued and are used to begging or working to pay off family debts. So we teach them about Gods love for them and their value as a human, their identity and how unique and special they are.  These kids are adorable and I’ve already fallen for them.
 

My first time in India was discovering who I was.

My second time in India is about discovering more of God – his love and affection for me.